And Usain Bolt did the same. Actually, a lot of Olympians do this. Faster pools, faster tracks, better drugs.
I think there should be three Olympics -- Summer, Winter, and Water. I'm getting so sick of seeing swimming, diving, etc. I don't think Bolt's last gold was even televised. It's just ridiculous.

Bolt is a monster too, no doubt. If he wins a gold in 2016 then he should be considered the best Olympian of all time metal count notwithstanding. Even better if he'd add long jump in there, but it doesn't pay the bills the way sprinting does. He might run the 4x400 this year, which would be interesting.

The 100m was televised Most of the water stuff is over before the track stuff begins. I saw the prelims even. I'm sure the 4x100 and 200m will be televised too.

(...)
The 100m was televised Most of the water stuff is over before the track stuff begins. I saw the prelims even. I'm sure the 4x100 and 200m will be televised too.

Yes, last night. Although, it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it deal. I only knew it was coming up because I saw Bolt in warmups and quickly sat down. 5 minutes later, it was all over and they were lining up for the women's 400 (which was a fantastic race)

if sustained dominance is the benchmark, then the greatest Olympian is Alexander Karelin

I agree. I always felt Karelin was the best of all time. He dominated the field. He won 3 consecutive gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling at the olympics and in his 4th one he lost to Rulon Garner in the finals. That was like a month before he turned 33. He retired after the Olympics were over.

Then look at the world championships he competed in. He won gold in every single one he competed in from 1989 to 1999.

"Greatest Olympian of all time" is always going to be subjective but if you consider time at the top of your game you'd have to put Steve Redgrave (the British rower) on the short list. He won Gold at five consecutive Olympics (1984-2000) which is a pretty hefty achievement for an endurance athlete. True, he competed in a team sport (pairs and fours) but he still had to earn his place in the crew. Imagine Michael Phelps still wining gold in 2020

"Greatest Olympian of all time" is always going to be subjective but if you consider time at the top of your game you'd have to put Steve Redgrave (the British rower) on the short list. He won Gold at five consecutive Olympics (1984-2000) which is a pretty hefty achievement for an endurance athlete. True, he competed in a team sport (pairs and fours) but he still had to earn his place in the crew. Imagine Michael Phelps still wining gold in 2020

Its true. Also swimming has a lot more medals that are a lot more accessible to the athletes than other sports, e.g. triathlon has one, running has five at most if you count 100m to 400m and add in relays.

Obviously he's fucking good at what he does, but its still easier to get a high medal count in swimming than other sports. Except show jumping where this year's gold medallist is 75, has missed one Olympics in 40 years and that was because Canada boycotted the Moscow games. But that's not a sport.

besides his medal count, phelps has dominated his sport for over 12 years. he pwns mens swimming like no one else.

tbh, because there are so many different sports, with different amounts of possible medals to win, and different aspects, and certain sports do allow for a person to compete longer, its really impossible to crown the greatest "olympian" ever.

still, i think if there is going to be a conversation, my vote goes to phelps.